Southwest to rebrand itself as AirTran
Apr 1, 2013, 5:24 am
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Southwest to rebrand itself as AirTran
DALLAS—Apr. 1, 2013
Southwest Airlines (LUV) today announced its intent to rename itself AirTran, changing all its operations to the AirTran brand.
Says Southwest spokesperson Justin Funz: "Ancillary fees are an integral part of Southwest's future plans. We had a lot of fun with the 'Bags Fly Free' marketing campaign, but we never meant to become known as a no-fee airline. After all, we initiated our industry's mad rush to charge fees for everything when we started charging for the third bag. The AirTran brand doesn't carry that 'no fee' baggage, if you'll pardon the pun. This is actually a very cost-effective way to free ourselves of the false image the Southwest brand now has in our passengers' minds.
We have decided to give our Customers what they have repeatedly told us they want by changing all our service to the AirTran brand. Our recently completed reservation system integration has eliminated the last obstacle to this service enhancement. The name change and related policy changes are expected to be completed by the end of 2013."
Although the details are not firm, Southwest intends to include in the rebranding assigned seating, a true Business class product (provisionally named This Time We Really Mean Business Class), and many new fees. There will even be a fee to earn frequent flier points, similar to the fees charged by rental car companies.
For business travelers who have trouble expensing fees and for other customers who don't want to get a headache computing the fees, Southwest will offer a variety of fee-inclusive bundled fares. These will range from Full Fare (all fees waived for traditionally free services) to the provisionally named "Kettle Fare" (three checked bags included and an assigned middle seat in one of the last 5 rows). An "Elliott" Fare will waive the first bag fee but eliminate any frequent flier earnings and the associated fee.
Southwest apparently feels that these changes will add some much-needed class to its operation. Says Funz: "We are really excited about our future as AirTran."
Herb Kelleher, Southwest's legendary co-founder and former CEO, was unavailable for comment.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) today announced its intent to rename itself AirTran, changing all its operations to the AirTran brand.
Says Southwest spokesperson Justin Funz: "Ancillary fees are an integral part of Southwest's future plans. We had a lot of fun with the 'Bags Fly Free' marketing campaign, but we never meant to become known as a no-fee airline. After all, we initiated our industry's mad rush to charge fees for everything when we started charging for the third bag. The AirTran brand doesn't carry that 'no fee' baggage, if you'll pardon the pun. This is actually a very cost-effective way to free ourselves of the false image the Southwest brand now has in our passengers' minds.
We have decided to give our Customers what they have repeatedly told us they want by changing all our service to the AirTran brand. Our recently completed reservation system integration has eliminated the last obstacle to this service enhancement. The name change and related policy changes are expected to be completed by the end of 2013."
Although the details are not firm, Southwest intends to include in the rebranding assigned seating, a true Business class product (provisionally named This Time We Really Mean Business Class), and many new fees. There will even be a fee to earn frequent flier points, similar to the fees charged by rental car companies.
For business travelers who have trouble expensing fees and for other customers who don't want to get a headache computing the fees, Southwest will offer a variety of fee-inclusive bundled fares. These will range from Full Fare (all fees waived for traditionally free services) to the provisionally named "Kettle Fare" (three checked bags included and an assigned middle seat in one of the last 5 rows). An "Elliott" Fare will waive the first bag fee but eliminate any frequent flier earnings and the associated fee.
Southwest apparently feels that these changes will add some much-needed class to its operation. Says Funz: "We are really excited about our future as AirTran."
Herb Kelleher, Southwest's legendary co-founder and former CEO, was unavailable for comment.
Apr 1, 2013, 5:31 am
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Apr 1, 2013, 11:40 am
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Apr 1, 2013, 1:50 pm
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Apr 1, 2013, 2:49 pm
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Apr 1, 2013, 2:56 pm
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http://elliott.org/blog/whatever-happened-to-mercy/